1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus for tensioning a strap, one such strap being disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,557, and more particularly relates to a convenient, hand-held automatic tensioning apparatus adapted to tension, among other things, a one-piece bundling strap manufactured from a single material having means to ensure the firm gripping of the tail end of said strap within the apertured self-clinching head end portion thereof against reverse movement of the strap body relative to said head-end portion, means being associated with said bundling strap to indicate the presence of tampering.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for tensioning and securing such straps about the neck of a bank bag or other item(s) to be bundled have heretofore been exclusively manually operable and cumbersome. These devices have primarily been hand-operated seal presses utilizing a fabric-type cord secured in taut relationship about the neck of the currency bag by means of a quantity of lead which is crimped by the hand-operated seal press and thereby deformed, forming a tight grip about said cord. An example of this type of hand-operated seal press is embodied in U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,970 to Lundberg et al. The process of bundling the neck of a currency bag using these hand-operated devices is extremely time consuming and manually intensive.
A radical improvement in the state of the art strap tensioning field is presented in applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,775, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein and set forth in part hereafter.
Flexible bundling straps adapted to be looped about a plurality of loose elements or about the neck of a flexible container and drawn taught thereabout in self-clinching relationship are well known. Bundling or tie straps of this nature are comprised of an elongated flexible strap adapted to be wrapped around a plurality of items to be bundled or about a pouch to be sealed (eg: cloth bag or money-carrying bag), pulled taut and held taut by a relatively rigid tongue disposed within the head-end of the strap. The head-end has a through-aperture therein adapted to receive the opposite or tail-end of said strap, said tongue adapted to coact with the tail-end of said strap so as to retain the strap against reverse movement thereof.
An example of a tie or bundling strap of this nature is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,047 to Schwester et al. The apertured head-end portion of Schwester has a self-clinching tongue means but which must be inserted into the head-end portion at a predetermined angle using an additional step in the process of manufacturing the strap, increasing the cost thereof. Undetected tampering may be accomplished by prying and removing the tongue means from clinching engagement with the strap body using a thin, sharp implement, and slipping the strap out of the aperture in the head-end. Tampering may also be accomplished by deforming the head-end, thereby releasing the tongue. This would allow the bundled items to be unbundled or the closed pouch to be opened and access gained to the interior thereof. Thereafter the items may be rebundled or pouch reclosed using the same strap without evidence of tampering.
A further effort at providing a tamper-proof bundling strap of the type here under consideration is disclosed in applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,055, which is directed to a security cap adapted to cover the head-end portion of the bundling strap and thereby preclude access to said tongue means. The cover is comprised of a generally flat sheet of semi-rigid or rigid material bent along transverse axes into a three-dimensional generally rectangular member. Through openings are provided therein which correspond with the positions through which the thin bundling strap body is passed when in use. Such a structure, however, is relatively costly to produce and time consuming and cumbersome to use, but is nevertheless effective.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a means for automatically and rapidly securing a self-clinching bundling strap about the neck of a flexible container or other item(s) to be bundled.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for automatically tightening a novel bundling strap about the neck of a currency bag using an apparatus which is lightweight and accomplishes its task consistently and a multiple of times faster than the heretofore hand-operated devices.
It is also a principal object of the instant invention to provide an improved self-clinching tamper-proof bundling strap.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tamper-proof self-clinching bundling strap having locking means wherein the body portion thereof is adapted to be locked by a novel and inexpensive locking means against reverse movement throughout its length when looped upon itself and drawn through its apertured head-end portion.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a novel tamper-proof self-clinching bundling strap manufactured as a single piece from a relatively brittle material which will fracture when exposed to predetermined tampering forces.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide an electronic circuit including a processor unit to provide control for the electric tensioning device.